With three weeks to play out in this ugly 2023 season, plenty of uncertainty surrounds the 3-11 Patriots.
The bulk of that is in regards to whether Bill Belichick will or will not be back to run Robert Kraft’s football team next season.
If the 71-year-old Belichick did return, might it be simply as the head coach and not the guy who wears all the hats, including final say on roster decisions? At least one FOB (Friend of Belichick) has floated that idea of late.
If Belichick doesn’t return, will he be fired, traded or simply “part ways” with the Patriots?
Would Belichick retire or does he want to pursue Don Shula’s All-Time NFL wins record with another organization? A soft-landing for Belichick with the Chargers makes more sense by the day, while its fun this holiday season to speculate about the Commanders, Cowboys and Bills, oh my.
So many questions.
So many reports through the media that either paint a partial picture or contradict each other.
So few actual answers.
So frustrating if you’re looking for closure or clarity that was never going to come in-season when it came to the future job security of the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach.
But if you are a Patriots fan searching for actual answers, lusting for some certainty in this most uncertain of times, then all you must do is turn your attention from Belichick and the coaching questions and focus on the quarterback position in Foxborough.
Because if this dismal and at times directionless season has brought us and taught us anything with crystal clear and redundant clarity it’s that there is no longer room for discussion, debate or delay when it comes to the quarterback position with the Patriots.
It is no longer worth arguing or even addressing. Let’s all say it together in collective, calming and conclusive unison – the Patriots need a quarterback!
It now feels like such an obvious point, but one so many fought in various ways for oh so long.
Former first-round pick Mac Jones, once thought of by Belichick and Kraft alike as the franchise QB in Foxborough, has been benched and broken beyond repair in this make-or-break third season.
Bailey Zappe, as he showed yet again in Sunday’s half OK/half ugly performance in the loss to the Chiefs, is not even close to being the answer at the most important position in all of sports, even if he is feisty and fun at times.
Oh and that modern wild card dream of Malik Cunningham is now off in Baltimore getting a fresh start with a team and a scheme that might just “respect” his athletic talents.
And please, save all the overthinking crap about the idea that Jones is a on a cheap contract, so maybe he should be in the mix in 2024.
Or that Zappe is just good enough to keep around, even if just as a backup ready for a few feverish snaps when called upon.
If you are worried about depth chart competition and cheap contracts competing for roster spots, then you are making the main point, that the team doesn’t have a quarterback. Doesn’t have a direction or hope, for now, at the most critical of spots.
Sure there will be plenty of time to talk about how and who the Patriots need to go get at quarterback. Should it be the top pick, which still has a very good chance to be No. 2 overall? A spot that would afford New England a shot at either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.
Should it be further down in the first round or early in the second round after New England lands a supposedly sure-fire prospect at another needy position like wide receiver or tackle?
Should the Patriots – whoever is running the football show – consider going the veteran QB route, with a guy like Kirk Cousins potentially available?
All that is open for a winter of pre-free agency and pre-draft discussion. What is no longer up for discussion is whether any quarterback who has spent any time on the Patriots roster this season has a future as a starter in Foxborough.
Regardless of Belichick’s future or the draft pick the team will get from the pain of this season next spring, 2023 has brought us one sure-fire gift this holiday season – clarity and certainty at the quarterback position.
And that’s actually a good thing. Even if it hasn’t felt like it.
Mac Island is uninhabited. Zappe Fever has been cured.
Every member of Patriot Nation can now turn their collective attention to whatever the future holds at the quarterback position. On this we can all agree.
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